


Where the Heart is

by rage_quitter



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: F/M, Fake AH Crew, Immortal Fake AH Crew, bye ray
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5996437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rage_quitter/pseuds/rage_quitter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray loved the crew, he loved what they did, but wanderlust was irresistible. Confessing it to them was easier said than done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the Heart is

**Author's Note:**

> This got longer and mushier than intended. It takes place in the same universe as the other immortal FAHC stories I've written, but you don't necessarily need context.

Her name was Tina.

She was a mercenary.

They hired her for a job. She was an ace at breaking into places, and even Gavin couldn’t get into the high security facility they needed to break into. Ray had no idea how she did what she did. But when she joined them on the job and Ray watched her take out guards with as much precision as Ryan and as little remorse, and she laughed at his deadpanned jokes over the comms, he stumbled over an invitation to play games as they escaped.

She worked for an organization called Twitch. It was a vast network of mercenaries and criminals for hire.

Their dates turned from games to crime, and Ray found himself falling head over heels. His apartment didn’t feel empty anymore, with Michael living with Lindsay now. Things felt… brighter.

And when he found out she was immortal, he wanted her to stay. He talked with Geoff about taking her into the Crew. Ray was excited again.

But Tina didn’t like syndicate work, besides a few scattered jobs. She wanted freedom. She didn’t want to be tied to a group, to a single place.

She showed the world to Ray. Michael had opened the door, but Tina pulled him through it, and he was blinking into the sunlight with his finger on the trigger and the wind in his hair and her laughter in his ears.

Geoff noticed first. He didn’t say anything, but Ray felt his eyes on him when he skipped out of headquarters at the drop of a hat.

Jack figured it out next. “Whatever you want to do,” she said to him softly as he was grabbing his coat one day, “do it. Be happy.”

Gavin was the third one. He desperately invited Ray for more game nights, more little jobs, more together time.

When Ryan noticed, Ray couldn’t be sure. Ryan was always hard to read. But he found the Roman giving him knowing looks. Ryan was probably more understanding than any of the others; he didn’t say anything.

Michael… Ray didn’t know. That was the hardest.

Ray talked to Geoff first. Geoff smiled, nodded, and wished him luck. He heard him smothering a sob as he left the room.

“I thought so,” Jack said before Ray could finish telling her. “You haven’t been happy. She makes you happy.”

“But so do you guys,” he mumbled into her shoulder as she held him just like his mother had.

“We’ll always be your family. But every bird leaves the nest.”

Ryan was the easiest to tell. He hadn’t gotten out the first sentence before Ryan was handing him a box. “Jack told me.” It contained ammo for his sniper, a new beanie, a sealed bag of the most high-quality marijuana Ray had ever laid eyes on, a journal and pen, a gold coin, and a photo album. “Jack helped me make it for you. You’re always welcome back, Ray.”

Gavin pleaded halfheartedly, but gave up quickly. “I want you to be happy,” he said. “Even if I’ll miss you like hell. You’re one of my best friends.”

“Hey, we’ll never stop being X-Ray and Vav, right?” Ray held up his fist.

Gavin met his eyes and smiled. His knuckles tapped Ray’s.

Ray avoided telling Michael, even after he’d packed his stuff at what was once their shared apartment. He didn’t know how to tell him.

“Are you ready?” Tina asked over the phone as he sat in the empty apartment with his backpack. He’d given his cars and bikes to Geoff, except one, currently waiting with a few more bags of his belongings in the garage.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said.

“Did you tell Michael yet?”

Ray swallowed. The lump in his throat remained. “I…”

“Ray.”

“I can’t,” he admitted.

“He’ll be upset if you don’t.”

“I know but… how can I?”

“You need to tell him,” Tina urged. “He’ll understand. He won’t be mad, but you need to tell him.”

“Fuck…” Ray pinched his nose. “I… yeah. You’re right.”

“We have all the time in the world,” Tina reminded him. “Take as much time as you need, babe.”

“Okay.” Ray took a breath. “I’ll call you back, okay? Love you.”

“Yup. Good luck. Love you too.”

Ray stared at the black screen of his phone for several seconds. _Call him, text him, tell him to meet up, you’re a grown ass man, for fuck’s sake, Ray_.

He needed a smoke.

Ray grabbed his bag. He’d shove it in the car on the way outside to light one up. He would probably feel more comfortable calling Michael with a lazy buzz in his veins.

When he opened the door, he found himself staring at a mess of red curls and crossed arms.

“Ray.”

“Uh. Michael. Hey, what’s up?”

Michael’s expression was unreadable. “Are you leaving?”

Ray stared at him.

The bag slumped off his shoulder. It landed with a thud on the floor.

“I’m sorry.”

Ray stared at the floor, his scuffed checkered vans inches from the toes of Michael’s black boots.

“You’re an asshole.”

Before he could move, Michael was pulling Ray close, wrapping his arms tight around him. Ray’s hands gripped Michael’s jacket in a vice and he burrowed his face in Michael’s collar. He didn’t realize he was crying until a sob jerked out of his chest.

And he was scared. So, so scared.

“Michael,” he whispered out.

“Hey, Ray, buddy, I got you,” Michael said, his voice so soft, like it never was. “Why are you crying?”

“I- I- I don’t know,” Ray mumbled. “I… I’m sorry.”

Michael squeezed him tight for a moment before tugging him back into the apartment and sitting them both on the couch. The same one they’d played games on together for so long. He kept his arms around Ray, letting him curl into his side and shake.

“I don’t know,” Ray repeated. “I… this is what I want. I’m… I’m scared, Michael. I want to go. I want to… be happy. Be free. I want to see things. But I’m so scared.”

“I know,” Michael murmured. He carded his fingers through Ray’s hair. “It’s terrifying. But you won’t be alone. You’ve got Tina, and you two are thick as thieves.”

Ray barked a laugh at the literal comment.

“And you can come back. We’ll always have a room for you. You’re family. And… fuck, I’m gonna miss the shit outta you. But I want you to be happy. I care about you.”

“You know… you’re the best thing that’s happened to me, right? If it wasn’t for you… man, I don’t know where the hell I’d be now.”

“Funny how things work out with people like us,” Michael mused.

“I’m gonna miss you. All of you. So fucking much.”

“Don’t worry, by the time you show up again, it’ll be like no time passed at all.” Michael rubbed Ray’s shoulder. “We’ve got literally forever to meet again. You should experience things. Don’t let us hold you down.”

“I thought… telling you was gonna be the hardest,” Ray said. “I was right.”

“That’s why you didn’t.” It wasn’t a question. Michael didn’t sound angry. “Jack told me. I know why you didn’t. I’m not really fuckin’ thrilled about it, but I get it. I wish you’d told us all sooner so we could have one last heist together.”

Ray gave a small smile. “Is it too late for one?”

Michael’s face broke into a smile as well. “Ask Geoff.”

Ray left with a bang, all right, driving out of Los Santos to the private plane ride Geoff graciously paid for. Tina’s hand was tight on his, a bright grin on her face, the backseat loaded with cash.

That same fear nibbled at his mind again, but when he looked at Tina, the shining expression on her face, and the blue blue sky out the window stretching farther than he could see, Ray knew he would be all right. And he would come back, someday.

But home is where the heart is, he thought as he smiled back at her.

**Author's Note:**

> I've got tons more about this universe on my tumblr sideblog, immortal-fahc.tumblr.com, if you want to read more!


End file.
